Directional thermal siphon type heat column

ABSTRACT

A directional thermal siphon type heat column comprises: a column body which is a sealed hollow cavity formed by a lid and a base and contains a liquid; and at least one partition element, being a hood plate fixed into the column body and extended obliquely towards the base and having a first channel formed on a side of the partition element opposite to the base and a second channel formed on one side of the partition element opposite to the lid, so as to avoid an opposite flushing occurred while the liquid inside the heat column is having a liquid/vapor phase change and prevent affecting the heat dissipation and circulation operation efficiency.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heat column, and more particularly toa heat dissipating structure, in particular to the heat column with goodthermal conduction and heat dissipation effects.

2. Brief Description of the Related Art

As the technologies of computers, electronics and optoelectronicsadvance rapidly, the CPU performance of the computers is enhancedsignificantly, resulting in the production of a larger heat source, sothat it is necessary to provide a heat dissipating measure to overcomethe heat dissipation problem. The development and application of lightemitting diodes (LED become important subjects of the illuminationindustry, and the life and function of the LED are important factors fora good heat dissipating measure which are also the major problems of thepresent LED development and application. At present, heat dissipatingtechnologies including heat dissipations by fins, fans, heat pipes andvapor chambers are developed and extensively used, wherein a heat columnis one of the best heat dissipating technologies. Basically, the heatcolumn is sealed cavity containing an operating liquid, and theoperating liquid inside the sealed cavity is circulated continuously fora liquid/vapor phase change and the vapor/liquid fluid flows back andforth between a heat absorbing end and a heat discharging end, so that auniform temperature at the surface of the cavity can be reached quicklyto achieve the thermal conduction effect. With reference to FIG. 1 for aschematic view of a conventional heat column, the heat column 90comprises a hollow column body 91, a lid 92 covered onto the top of thecolumn body 91, a filling receptacle 93 formed on the lid 92 andprovided for filling a liquid into the column body 91, and finally theheat column 90 is sealed. The column body 91 includes a contact surface94 disposed at the bottom of the column body 91 contacted with a heatsource, and the heat column is operated an operating mechanism asdescribe below. A liquid at a heat absorbing end (which is the contactsurface 94) is vaporized into vapor to form an air flow. Now, a localpressure is produced inside the column body 91 to drive the vapor toflow towards a heat discharging end (such as lid 92 or the internal wallof the column body 91), and the vapor is operated at the contact area ofthe heat discharging end and condensed into a liquid phase, and then theliquid loops back to the heat absorbing end (which is the contactsurface 94) for circulation and heat dissipation through a naturalphenomenon of a gravity/capillary siphon by a metal crystal, a metalpowder sintered lump or a copper mesh on the internal wall of the columnbody 91.

Although the heat column 90 can achieve the effect of the heatdissipation and circulation by means of the crystal, sintered lump orcopper mesh on the internal wall of the column body 91 and changing theliquid/vapor phase to cool the vapor and liquid through the naturalphenomenon of the gravity/capillary siphon, yet there is no appropriatepartition of space in the column body 91, so that the air flow formed bythe vaporized liquid descends when encountering the lid 92, and thedescended airflow and the rising airflow constitute an oppositeflushing, and a smooth circulation operation or a good heat dissipationeffect cannot be achieved. Obviously, the conventional heat columnrequires improvements. Therefore, it is an important subject for relatedmanufacturers to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional heat column.

In view of the foregoing drawbacks of the applications of theconventional heat column, the inventor of the present invention based onyears of experience in the related industry to conduct extensiveresearches and experiments, and finally developed a directional thermalsiphon type heat column with smoother operation and better heatdissipation effects to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to providea directional thermal siphon type heat column with smooth heatdissipation and circulation operations inside the heat column and anexcellent path of guiding a heat source to improve the heat dissipationperformance significantly.

To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention providesa technical measure, comprising: a column body, being a sealed hollowcavity formed by a lid and a base, and provided for containing a liquidtherein; and a partition element, being a hood plate obliquely extendedtowards the partition element, and fixed into the column body, and thepartition element comprising a first channel formed on a side of thepartition element opposite to the base, and a second channel formed onanother side of the partition element opposite to the lid.

The technical contents of the present invention will become apparent bythe detailed description of the preferred embodiments together with theillustration of related drawings as follows:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional heat column;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an operation of the heat column inaccordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a second preferred embodiment t of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a third preferred embodiment t of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a third preferred embodiment t ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a fourth preferred embodiment t ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The above and further objects and novel features of the invention willmore fully appear from the following detailed description when the sameis read in connection with the accompanying drawing. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that the drawing is for purpose ofillustration only and is not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe invention.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 for a directional thermal siphon typeheat column in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the heat column 1 comprises a column body 12, a guideelement 16 and a partition element 26, wherein the column body 12 is ahollow cavity; in other words, the column body 12 includes an operatingspace 120 therein, and a capillary structure such as a metal crystal, ametal powder sintered lumps, a copper mesh, a groove tube or a mesh tubeis formed on a surface of the internal wall of the operating space 120of the column body 12, and a connecting edge 121 is protruded from thebottom of the column body 12 (wherein the up, down, front and reardirections referred in the description of the present invention are usedfor the purpose of illustrating the invention only, but not intended forlimiting the configuration of the invention in an erect position), andthe connecting edge 121 includes a plurality of fixing holes 122 formedthereon, and a lid 14 is covered to the top of the column body 12, andthe lid 14 includes a filling receptacle 141 for filling a liquid 40into the column body 12. Finally, the column body 12 is vacuumed andsealed. In one embodiment, the surface of the internal wall of the lid14 also has the same capillary structure formed on the internal wall ofthe column body 12, and the lid 14 is tilted downward to facilitateguiding the airflow towards the column body 12, and a base 10 and aninsulation gasket 28 (which is a hollow plate corresponding to the basein this preferred embodiment) include a plurality of fixing holes 101,281 formed around the peripheries of the base 10 and the insulationgasket 28. During an assembling process, the insulation gasket 28 isinstalled between the connecting edge 121 of the column body 12 and thebase 10 and fixed into the fixing holes 122, 101 by a plurality offasteners 30 (such as bolts) 281, so that the column body 12 and thebase 10 are combined to form a sealed space of the column body forcontaining a liquid 40.

The guide element 16 is fixed into the operating space 120 of the columnbody 12, and the guide element 16 includes an expanding circular portion18 at the bottom and a guided ascending portion 20 at the top, and theexpanding circular portion 18 is a circular plate slightly extendeddownward, and the width of the bottom of the expanding circular portion18 is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the column body 12in this preferred embodiment, and the expanding circular portion 18 hasa plurality of separately protruded positioning plates 181 installed atthe bottom periphery of the expanding circular portion 18, and thepositioning plate 181 (or another fixing method) is fixed onto theinternal wall of the column body 12. The guided ascending portion 20 isa substantially vertical cylindrical plate, and a top plate 24 isinstalled at the top of the guided ascending portion 20, and a middletube 22 is penetrated through the top plate 24 and includes a pluralityof through holes 24 formed at the periphery of the middle tube 22 anddisposed apart from one another, and the guide element 16 becomes apenetrating guide space 160, wherein a guided passing space 220 isformed inside the middle tube 22.

The partition element 26 is fixed into the operating space 120 of thecolumn body 12 and disposed at the top of the guide element 16, and thepartition element 26 has a through hole 261 formed at the top, such thatthe whole partition element 26 is a hood plate expanded obliquelytowards the base 10 to facilitate guiding an airflow towards the columnbody 12, and the partition element 26 has a bottom with a width slightlysmaller than the internal diameter of the column body 12 in thispreferred embodiment, and the partition element 26 includes a pluralityof separately protruded positioning plates 262 installed at the bottomperiphery of the partition element 26. The positioning plate 262 (oranother fixing method) is fixed to the internal wall of the column body12. After the partition element 26 is positioned and assembled, themiddle tube 22 is penetrated through and protruded from the through hole261 of the partition element 26, and a circulation space 263 is formedbetween the top of the middle tube 22 and the lid 14, and the bottom ofthe middle tube 22 is disposed inside the guide space 160 of the guideelement 16, and preferably situated at the bottom of the guidedascending portion 20. In addition, a first channel A is formed betweenthe partition element 26 and the guide element 16 and led to theinternal wall of the column body 12, and a second channel B is formedbetween the lid 14 and the partition element 26 and led to the internalwall of the column body 12, and the plurality of partition elements 26can be installed into the column body 12.

In FIG. 4, when the directional thermal siphon type heat column of thepresent invention is operated, the base 10 of the column body 12 iscontacted with a heat source, so that the liquid 40 can absorb heat, andan airflow of the vaporized liquid 40 will rise and a portion of theairflow is passed to the partition element 26 through the guide space160 of the guide element 16 and the plurality of through holes 241 ofthe top plate 24, and a portion of the airflow flows along the firstchannel A of the partition element 26 and obliquely downward to contactwith the internal wall of the column body 12 to start the condensationand capillary (siphon) backflow action, so that the liquefied liquid 40can achieve the heat absorbing and cooling effects. The other portion ofthe airflow of the vaporized liquid 40 is passed through the guidedpassing space 220 of the middle tube 22 to the circulation space 263under the lid 14, and the other portion of the airflow flows along thesecond channel B of the lid 14 and obliquely downward to contact withthe internal wall at the top of the column body 12 to start thecondensation and capillary (siphon) backflow action, so that the airflowof the vaporized liquid 40 can be divided without causing any oppositeflushing phenomenon to provide a smooth heat dissipation and circulationoperation and improve the heat dissipating efficiency significantly.

Since the internal wall of the column body 12 acts as a main area forthe condensation, therefore the external wall of column body 12 incontact with the outside must be maintained at a low temperaturecondition, and the insulation gasket 28 installed between the columnbody 12 and the base 10 can prevent the heat source from passing throughthe path formed by the base 10, the fastener 30 and the connecting edge121 or increasing the temperature of the external wall of the columnbody 12, so as to overcome the drawbacks of lowering the heatdissipating efficiency.

With reference to FIG. 5 for a schematic view of a directional thermalsiphon type heat column in accordance with the second preferredembodiment of the present invention, this preferred embodiment is basedon the structure of the first preferred embodiment, and a modificationis made. The second referred embodiment further comprises an accessoryheat sink 60 sheathed on an external side of the column body 12, and theaccessory heat sink 60 includes a plurality of heat dissipating fins 61for dissipating heat from an external wall of the column body 12.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 for schematic views of a directionalthermal siphon type heat column in accordance with the third preferredembodiment of the present invention, this preferred embodiment is basedon the structure with the column body 12 and the partition element 26according to the first preferred embodiment, and a modification is made.The third preferred embodiment further comprises a middle tube 50penetrated through the through hole 261 of the partition element 26 andabutted and positioned between the base 10 and the lid 14. The middletube 50 includes a heat dissipating element 52 installed below thepartition element 26, and the heat dissipating element 52 includes aplurality of heat dissipating fins 521 for guiding the air flow of thevaporized liquid 40 to improve the heat dissipation and circulationefficiency. In addition, the middle tube 50 includes a plurality ofpenetrating holes 51 formed at both upper and lower ends of the middletube 50, so that the airflow of the vaporized liquid 40 can pass throughthe penetrating hole 51 at the lower end and enter into a guided passingspace 501 of the middle tube 50 and then into the second channel B fromthe penetrating hole 51 at the upper end.

With reference to FIG. 8 for a schematic view of a directional thermalsiphon type heat column in accordance with the fourth preferredembodiment of the present invention, this preferred embodiment is basedon the structure with the column body 12, the partition element 26, themiddle tube 50 and the heat dissipating element 52 according to thethird preferred embodiment, and a modification is made, wherein themiddle tube 50 is penetrated through the through hole 261 of thepartition element 26, and an appropriate distance from both ends of themiddle tube 50 to the base 10 and the lid 14 respectively is maintained,and the partition element 26 includes a plurality of heat dissipatingfins 521 installed below and abutted against an internal wall of thecolumn body 12 for supporting the partition element 26 to be fixed intothe column body 12.

In summation of the description above, the present invention complieswith the patent application requirements, and is thus duly filed forpatent application. While the invention has been described withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood thatmodifications or variations may be easily made without departing fromthe spirit of this invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

1. A directional thermal siphon type heat column, comprising: a columnbody, being a sealed hollow cavity formed by a lid and a base, andprovided for containing a liquid therein; and a partition element, beinga hood plate obliquely extended towards the partition element, and fixedinto the column body, and the partition element comprising a firstchannel formed on a side of the partition element opposite to the base,and a second channel formed on another side of the partition elementopposite to the lid.
 2. The directional thermal siphon type heat columnaccording to claim 1, wherein the internal wall of the column body orthe inner side of the lid has a capillary structure comprised of a metalcrystal, a metal powder sintered lump, a copper mesh, a groove tube, ora mesh tube.
 3. The directional thermal siphon type heat columnaccording to claim 1, further comprising an insulation gasket installedbetween the bottom periphery of the column body and the base forpreventing a heat source from passing through the base or increasing thetemperature of the column body.
 4. The directional thermal siphon typeheat column according to claim 1, wherein the partition element furtherincludes a through hole formed thereon for passing a middle tube.
 5. Thedirectional thermal siphon type heat column according to claim 4,wherein the column body further includes a guide element fixed into thecolumn body and disposed between the partition element and the base, andthe guide element includes a top plate installed at an end of the guideelement opposite to the lid for passing the middle tube, and the topplate includes a plurality of through holes, such that the guide elementbecomes a penetrating guide space.
 6. The directional thermal siphontype heat column according to claim 5, wherein the guide elementincludes an expanding circular portion and a guided ascending portion,both disposed opposite to the base.
 7. The directional thermal siphontype heat column according to claim 6, wherein the expanding circularportion is a circular plate extended obliquely towards the base, and theexpanding circular portion has a bottom with a width slightly smallerthan the internal diameter of the column body, and the expandingcircular portion includes a plurality of separately protrudedpositioning plates and installed at the bottom periphery of theexpanding circular portion, and the positioning plate is fixed onto theinternal wall of the column body.
 8. The directional thermal siphon typeheat column according to claim 1, wherein the partition element has abottom with a width slightly smaller than the internal diameter of thecolumn body, and the partition element includes a plurality ofseparately protruded positioning plates installed at the bottomperiphery of the partition element, and fixed onto the internal wall ofthe column body.
 9. The directional thermal siphon type heat columnaccording to claim 5, further comprising a circulation space definedbetween the middle tube an end and the lid, and another end of themiddle tube being disposed at a bottom position inside the guidedascending portion, so that an appropriate distance from both ends of themiddle tube to the base and lid respectively is maintained.
 10. Thedirectional thermal siphon type heat column according to claim 1,wherein the column body includes an accessory heat sink installed on anexternal side of the column body, and the accessory heat sink includes aplurality of heat dissipating fins for dissipating heat from an externalwall of the column body.
 11. The directional thermal siphon type heatcolumn according to claim 4, wherein the middle tube is abutted andpositioned between the base and the lid, and the middle tube includes aplurality of penetrating holes formed thereon.
 12. The directionalthermal siphon type heat column according to claim 11, wherein themiddle tube includes a heat dissipating element installed thereon, andthe heat dissipating element includes a plurality of heat dissipatingfins disposed around the heat dissipating element.
 13. The directionalthermal siphon type heat column according to claim 4, wherein anappropriate distance from both ends of the middle tube to the base andthe lid respectively is maintained, and the middle tube includes aplurality of heat dissipating fins installed under the partitionelement, and abutted against the internal wall of the column body forsupporting the partition element to be fixed into the column body.